Who do you keep on this roster for next year?

[Smartguy]

Honestly wouldn't be upset if the current roster just completely disappeared after McDavid, Draisaitl, and RNH and the NHL said "well I guess you guys get an expansion draft to pick the rest of the roster".

This entire roster outside of Drai/Mcdavid can go, unfortunately we have no other assets so we are stuck in a cycle of bad contracts and no depth. We have no choice but to waste Mcdavid’s entire career trying to draft depth. Which we will ruin with our awful development

 

[Soundwave]

This entire roster outside of Drai/Mcdavid can go, unfortunately we have no other assets so we are stuck in a cycle of bad contracts and no depth. We have no choice but to waste Mcdavid’s entire career trying to draft depth. Which we will ruin with our awful development

Yeah and two years ago Colorado was a disaster. One year ago Buffalo was a disaster.

Get a competent GM and they will get this going the right way in 3 years or less.

It's not that hard to build a decent hockey team around McDavid, it's only hard if you're stupid.

 

[Panda Bear]

McDavid, Draisaitl and RNH are our givens at forward. I hope that by this time next year, all of Puljujarvi, Yamamoto and Benson will be making an impact in our lineup. I would kill to have someone like Guentzel or Debrincat (god damn it).

I would keep both Larsson and Klefbom--their combined cap hit is 8.33 million. I would be happy to package Nurse for an upgrade. Players with size, speed and nastiness are great, but I prefer really smart ones who can skate and pass well.

Edit: I cannot emphasise enough how important it is that we have at least one of Puljujarvi or Yamamoto pan out.

 

[Smartguy]

Yeah and two years ago Colorado was a disaster. One year ago Buffalo was a disaster.

Get a competent GM and they will get this going the right way in 3 years or less.

It's not that hard to build a decent hockey team around McDavid, it's only hard if you're stupid.

Buffalo/Colorado weren’t gutted when they started that, the both went through long painful rebuilds, we went through that, traded away all the assets we got from it. And now essentially have to start again

 

[Soundwave]

Buffalo/Colorado weren’t gutted when they started that, the both went through long painful rebuilds, we went through that, traded away all the assets we got from it. And now essentially have to start again

Buffalo was pretty gutted, a year ago everyone considered them a joke.

The Oilers aren't gutted either. It's not as prime of a situation as it was 3 years ago, but a smart GM can build a decent team around

McDavid, Draisiatl, RNH

Bouchard, Klefbom, Nurse, Larsson

That's not exactly starting from 0.

It's just a matter of being smart and taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. This team could've had Mike Hoffman for a bag of potato chips but decided for whatever reason to pass.

 

[LTIR]

Buffalo was pretty gutted, a year ago everyone considered them a joke.

The Oilers aren't gutted either. It's not as prime of a situation as it was 3 years ago, but a smart GM can build a decent team around

McDavid, Draisiatl, RNH

Bouchard, Klefbom, Nurse, Larsson

That's not exactly starting from 0.

It's just a matter of being smart and taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. This team could've had Mike Hoffman for a bag of potato chips but decided for whatever reason to pass.

Add Spooner,Sekera,Russell,Lucic etc and it's llike starting in minus.

New GM will have to do a lot of cleanup to get to 0

 

[29292929]

Klefbom proves time after time to have ZERO hockey IQ, Look at his shot selection and pinch selection. hes a dud. I would look to move him for a rhd

 

[Mr Tadakichi]

Just can everyone and call up the AHL team with McDavid. We would lose more than we do now, but at least they might play with some passion.

 

[space321]

Klefbom proves time after time to have ZERO hockey IQ, Look at his shot selection and pinch selection. hes a dud. I would look to move him for a rhd

Yet Klefbom is still our best defenseman...

Also what's with everyone's obsession with RHD? I remember the RHD argument was used to justify Adam Larsson's supposed high trade value. Why not just have good LHD and pair them with average RHD? Why don't we just look into trading for good defensemen in general?

 

[Paralyzer008]

At forward I'd be thinking:

RNH-McDavid-BLANK
BLANK-Draisaitl-BLANK
Benson-BLANK-Yamamoto
Caggiula-Marody-BLANK

Yep, that's an overhaul.

I have no idea what to do with Jesse Puljujarvi yet either. I'm not sold yet on Drake, Chiasson, Rieder, Spooner or any of the other forwards not named McDavid, Drai or RNH. Way too early for me to pencil them in.

If anyone gets a new deal to stay so far, it's Chiasson, if he's not expensive.

 

[Mr Tadakichi]

At forward I'd be thinking:

RNH-McDavid-BLANK
BLANK-Draisaitl-BLANK
Benson-BLANK-Yamamoto
Caggiula-BLANK-BLANK

Yep, that's an overhaul.

I have no idea what to do with Jesse Puljujarvi yet either. I'm not sold yet on Drake, Chiasson, Rieder, Spooner or any of the other forwards not named McDavid, Drai or RNH. Way too early for me to pencil them in.

Those Blank sextuplets were a steal at the draft.

 

[A91]

Everyone else im either indifferent about or want gone. The ones listed I feel contribute to winning and do more good than bad. Never read anyone else's so not sure if this is harsh.

Forward
- McDavid
- Draisaitl
- RNH
- Chiasson
- Reider

Defence
- Klefbom
- Larsson
- Nurse

1-2 of Bouchard, Bear, Jones, Persson and 1-2 of Pulju, Yammo, Marody, Benson, Hebig.
And that's only if they have excellent camps.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

You have to move the Lucic Sekera and Spooner contracts for non roster players, a buyout in these cases in not acceptable, and not taking bad money back in deals. That means losing prospects and picks to entice teams into taking them. That frees up over 14mil to pursue players from teams looking for change or heading up against the cap.
Target goal scoring from the wing x2 and an offensive defenceman.
It'll gut our next couple of years in terms of draft picks and probably cost us both PJ and Yamo and perhaps one of the young D (not Bouchard, he is not up for grabs) and probably Klef or Nurse.

 

[Duke74]

Spooner, Lucic, Sekera, Talbot, Benning can all go.

 

[FlameChampion]

Realistically:

Keep
McDavid
Draisaitl
RNH

Maybe:
Rieder
Chiasson if contract is appropriate
Caguilla I think hes a third/ fourth liner but don’t play him on pk

Questionable:
Kassian - may want to keep him as security if you get rid of Lucic for 1 year

Drop
Lucic
Brodziak haven’t really seen enough
Spooner if he doesn’t show anything
Khaira if he doesn’t show anything. Could be a 13/14 forward
Rattie I don’t think hes coming back anyway

Not going to really comment on JP, Yama, Benson at this point

Keep:
Larsson
Klefbom - I would like to see more offense but realistically how do you replace him

Maybe
Nurse - I am just not convinced that he can make enough plays. Once again I am not sure how you replace him though realistically
Russell - I have liked him this year. I think hes been better than Nurse. Least he gives an honest effort
Gravel - I think hes good as a 6/7 guy

I like our top 4 somewhat. I think they are pretty good defenceman. The problem is though they don’t create enough offense. I would like to get more offense and transition there but its tough realistically. Hard to know what to do here. Hopefully they show more as season goes on.

Drop:
Sekera I think need to move on from the contract. I like him but I can’t see him recovering.
Benning- Just not good enough last 2 years

Not going to comment on Bouchard, Bear and Jones at this point. Bouchard is very important going forward though.

Keep
Koskinen

Drop
Talbot- honestly just not consistent enough for a long term deal. I just think hes done here. Even if he somehow turns his game around, I don’t think it’s worth the risk

 

[I am the Liquor]

Add Spooner,Sekera,Russell,Lucic etc and it's llike starting in minus.

New GM will have to do a lot of cleanup to get to 0

Russell is a minus?

 

[Canada Drai]

Those Blank sextuplets were a steal at the draft.

Is your avatar.... a mushroom?

 

[BertMcDrai]

Keep:
McDavid
Draisaitl
RNH
Rieder
Caggiula
Russell

2 0f 3:
Nurse
Klefbom
Larsson

In current shape:
Koskinen
Chiasson

Prospects:
Bouchard
Pulju (at least one more year)
Yamo
Jones
Bear
Benson
Hebig
McLeod
Marody

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

I've been going through the Florida threads, and they have a similar thread "If Tallon was fired today, what would you do". Alot of 'Trade Ekblad for an elite forward'. He was fantastic with Connor and Nuge in the worlds, with the 3 of them earning best players for team canada honors.

Would you trade Leon Draisaitl for Aaron Ekblad?
Both in year 2 of a monstrous 8 year contract, with Ekblad getting 1 mil less

Florida gets their premier top 2 center to rotate with Barkov, and we get a true potential #1 defenseman

Only thing is that Drai is the 2nd best player on the team, Connor's main man, and he's producing over a point per game right now, while Ekblad is struggling a bit, 9 pts in 22 games.
It's a tempting offer though

 

[Oilers in NS]

Regardless of how the rest of the season goes, Chiarelli is likely gone (good riddance) barring a miracle run to the playoffs and a first round win. Hitchcock will be doing what he can to get as many wins together and to see what he can get from individual players. Even with a front office purge I'd like to see him kept on as an adviser of sorts if he's willing. One of the few people in the org with any sense for hockey.

With that in mind, who do you think is worth keeping and who is worth trading? I'm organizing it according to priority, and some things to keep in mind is player performance relative to expectations (it's silly to think that all of the bottom 6 forwards and bottom pairing D need to be upgraded IMO).

Keep:

Forwards:

McDavid

Draisaitl

Nugent-Hopkins - has come a long way now that he's playing looser. Well worth the 6 million IMO.

Reider - probably the only "true" third line talent we have (left) that can also do spot duty in the top 6. PKs well, seems to be good at puck retrieval, good play-making

Caggiula - Has played very well this year after a down year last year. Looked good in the playoffs particularly for his first pro year IMO.

Defense:

One of Klefbom or Larsson: Not sure which of the two I would keep. An argument could be made for either depending on who is coming in. One should be traded with + to get an upgrade top 4 D (or top 6 forward)

Russell: I know a lot of people still don't like him (and his contract) but he's been one of the more consistent D since signing here. He's good enough to be a #4 and having him on the bottom pairing easing in one of the rookies would be ideal. I also don't think it will be worth trading him for what we get back. There are harder contracts to move that need to go (Sekera, Lucic).

Bouchard: Will be a top 4 D, no mistake. Likely will be a #2 at worst in his prime. One of the most valuable players we have at this point

Goalie:

Koskinen: Playing very well despite poor team defense. His body of work outside of the NHL confirms his value. I'd try to re-sign him right away to the Talbot contract or something like that.

Maybe:

Nurse: Personally, I would try and move him with a + for a team looking for a change. He still holds value and will likely be a top 4 D but we need more offensively skilled D. Could be one of the better pieces to move to get something valuable back.

Chiasson: Yes, he's not consistent, which is why he signed a PTO. Let's see how he does the rest of the year, and if he'll sign a reasonable extension for 2 years, I'd jump at it. Been one of the better forwards this year, all around. Gulutzan rocks for this suggestion alone.

Jesse Puljujarvi: I'm on the fence. I think he's been jerked around a bit and not given a completely fair shake, but he also has to do something with limited minutes as well (look at Chiasson...yes, I know he's a vet). I'd quietly ask around to see what can be returned. I'm also worried about him breaking out on a better team.

Yamamoto: I'd like to see how he does the rest of the year on the farm team and give him a shot next year in the bigs, but I'd also keep offers open.

Brodziak: Our most consistent bottom 6 guy. Yes, hes old. But his veteran presence is worth it and he still shows flashes of skill with a work ethic that rubs off on other teammates. Not going to find anyone better for 4th line C next year for the price IMO. Maybe a guy from Bakersfield.

Gravel: I'd like to keep him as insurance if he'll sign for cheap. IMO the best 7D we've had in a long while.

Bear, Jones, Lagesson, Hebig, Marody, Benson et al in the Bake.: All promising, and probably not worth what you'd get back. I'd consider using them as a plus to get someone more established (but would be very adamant against trading Jones and Benson unless the return was undeniably better).

Move on from:

Sekera or Lucic: One of these two has to go next year. I would lean towards Sekera because the dollars are close and IMO Lucic can actually still bring some value to team play in the bottom 6. Unfortunate that Seks is probably done as an NHLer from the injuries. I don't think both can be offloaded next year without gutting the team further.

One of Klefbom or Larsson: See above. Need an upgrade on one of them. I think they have value around the league.

Talbot: He's done here. I think he might do okay as a backup somewhere but he's also hitting that age where he might be done in general. We NEED a proven backup next year.

Spooner: Didn't like this trade when it happened, and I'm not really a fan of Strome. At least he could tread water as a 3C. See if his value can be increased this year and move on from him for a pick.

Benning: Inconsistent, and while the stats show he is a decent bottom pair, we have guys on the farm that I think will be more consistent (and make less). I'd only keep him if we can keep him on the bottom pair and one of the guys from Bakersfield pairs well with him (which we need to find out this year when we're officially out of the race or before).

Khaira: He has flashes of great play but floats too much and is a dime a dozen player IMO. Any of the top 6 in Bakersfield would be an upgrade on him next year, IMO. I'd let him walk at the end of the year.

Kassian: Keep him if Lucic goes or if you can't find a better replacement. He's overpaid for what he brings but if the coach can keep him engaged his physical presence and speed is valuable.

Rattie: I do think he has potential given what we've seen but I don't see him getting a fair shake with Hitchcock and honestly we can do better. Maybe keep him as a cheaper winger in the top 6 (he's definitely better than Spooner IMO)

Wideman: Meh. I think one of the offensive D rookies will do better than him next year. Let him walk.

Garrison: He's definitely not coming back next year. Will likely retire.

Thoughts? Anyone I missed?

Rumour circulating that Flyers interested in Talbot. What could we get? Don’t have a clue. If we could somehow unload Sekera and Lucic (might have a better chance of finding who shot JFK), I would love Wayne Simmonds. A power forward who can fight and score.
The days of the big UFA signings are coming to an end. 25 is starting to be old now ffs. Do you wanna sign a guy to a 7 yr 70 mil when he is 28? Habs just signed Alzner to big contract and now have him on waivers.
I just hope McDavid don’t want out. I will always hate that trade for Reinhart. To me , that should have been the nail in the coffin for Chiarelli

 

[FlameChampion]

Rumour circulating that Flyers interested in Talbot. What could we get? Don’t have a clue. If we could somehow unload Sekera and Lucic (might have a better chance of finding who shot JFK), I would love Wayne Simmonds. A power forward who can fight and score.
The days of the big UFA signings are coming to an end. 25 is starting to be old now ffs. Do you wanna sign a guy to a 7 yr 70 mil when he is 28? Habs just signed Alzner to big contract and now have him on waivers.
I just hope McDavid don’t want out. I will always hate that trade for Reinhart. To me , that should have been the nail in the coffin for Chiarelli

Talbot may get you a 2nd round pick. I dont really know at this point to be honest. Hes really killed his value at this point. But theres still that glimmer that a team might bite on him. I think he might do ok from a change of scenery.

I dont think we can really offload Sekera or Lucic to Philadelphia, I think they just have too many forwards who make a lot of money on long term deals. Maybe if Holmgren was GM, since hes pretty bad.

I still think Carolina is the team to offload Lucic too. Maybe Islanders for Sekera.

Would love Simmonds too, hes UFA though. If he could be had for Talbot+, I would do it since Talbots UFA and I dont think hes in the plans here either. I would be skeptical of trading too much for him though. Simmonds is at that age though where any type of a long term deal is really risky I think.

I think this team needs more skill and scoring. We just have too many tough guys in "Lucic, Kassian, Khaira etc". I think we only need one of these guys, not three. Khairas fine because hes cheap so he can be a 12-14 guy.

 

[Little Fury]

pretty much

Larsson and Klefbom are questionable right now

LOL wut

 

[Oilers in NS]

Talbot may get you a 2nd round pick. I dont really know at this point to be honest. Hes really killed his value at this point. But theres still that glimmer that a team might bite on him. I think he might do ok from a change of scenery.

I dont think we can really offload Sekera or Lucic to Philadelphia, I think they just have too many forwards who make a lot of money on long term deals. Maybe if Holmgren was GM, since hes pretty bad.

I still think Carolina is the team to offload Lucic too. Maybe Islanders for Sekera.

Would love Simmonds too, hes UFA though. If he could be had for Talbot+, I would do it since Talbots UFA and I dont think hes in the plans here either. I would be skeptical of trading too much for him though. Simmonds is at that age though where any type of a long term deal is really risky I think.

I think this team needs more skill and scoring. We just have too many tough guys in "Lucic, Kassian, Khaira etc". I think we only need one of these guys, not three. Khairas fine because hes cheap so he can be a 12-14 guy.

Khaira sure has regressed this year. I had big hopes for him this year. If we could offload Talbot for a 2nd, you do that trade. It also frees up 5mil next year. A pipe dream would be to offload Sekera, Lucic, and Talbot. That frees up 15 mil. That could get ya some scoring wingers or a Tyson Barrie. I just don’t think Chiarelli can do it. GM’s know they can bend him over without ky jelly . It must not bother Chiarelli but it sure hurts Oilernation. It’s funny, Strome leaves and starts getting points right away in NY. We get Spooner and he goes -6. The life of an Oiler fan. Charlie Browns favorite team? The Edmonton Oilers

 

[Little Fury]

Buffalo/Colorado weren’t gutted when they started that, the both went through long painful rebuilds, we went through that, traded away all the assets we got from it. And now essentially have to start again

We really don't. There's got good centre depth and a solid collection of D men (though lacking in that true #1 stud) in the NHL here.

With Bouchard, Benson, Yamo, Puljujarvi, Hebig, Bear, Jones you've got enough prospects bubbling under to make the jump in a year or two or bullets to make a deal for help in the short term.

It's about clearing off some of the bad contracts (Lucic, Sekera, Kassian), making smart short term bets and having patience. Not making sweeping changes or massive moves to "shake things up." That's exactly why we're in the mess we're in now.

 

[The Queen of the Sea]

Honestly wouldn't be upset if the current roster just completely disappeared after McDavid, Draisaitl, and RNH and the NHL said "well I guess you guys get an expansion draft to pick the rest of the roster".

...But then Oilers would pick players like Jori Lehterä, Loui Eriksson, David Backes and Brent Seabrook.